Another Silly Question

Hello, I have an Z-51 84 Vette, auto, and its about to reach 160K on the odometer, it runs ok still, its got some defects, like the power window motors are like super slow sometimes, the power antenna does not work anymore, the stereo doesnt either, nor does the A/C, or the passanger side headlight motor. I have done a couple mods already, its got a K&N fitler, Hypertech chip, crossdrilled and slotted rotors on all 4 wheels, gotti motorsports 16" wheels and full greenwood body kit, high flow cat, and KBD targa mufflers. What Im gonna do next month is replace all the bushings with the polyurethane ones, on the front and rear and Bilstein shocks. But now, I wanna start working on my "X-mas" list, I will have somewhere around 6K to spend on my Vette by December, or January, and here comes the silly question, "What would you guys do next?" Performancewise. I dont want a dragcar, I want a street car, that could hit maybe like around 12 secs on the 1/4 mile, that handles good, and that drives good on the street/freeway, a car that I can drive anyday. I want 3.73 gears in the rear, but I dont know if the dana 36 is very reliable or not. How easy is to swap it with a dana 44? or is the dana 36 strong enough to handle around 400 - 450 HP? If it is, I'll keep it, I will just rebuilt it. Now, I also wanna rebuilt and race prep my TH-700R4 with the B&M shift kit. And now, I dont think Im gonna be able to get to my goal of 400-450HP with the CFI, or I will spend a whole lot of money and time trying. So, do u guys think it would be better to go with a carb or with a MPFI such as the Holley Commander 950 system? Becasue one of my biggest concerns is that I want it to pass the emissions test, and I believe they look for the smog pump and a cat too, so I dont know. (I live in Tucson, AZ). Any help or ideas would be greatly appriciated. Thank you very much!!! :)

Danny,
no such thing as a silly question, but before I answer some of the performance, let us address the "defects" as you called them.
your '84 was the first off in the new Vette body style and engine package, so with the electrical issues you've pointed out, I would suggest $100-160. towards a new alternator...
but not one for your car, it will still fit, but look into newer Vettes or Cadillacs (both ALOT of electronics, and doesn't yours have the digital dash?) and look for an alternator of the same casing size and clock position (the way it mounts in the bracket), but with higher amps.
Or, find a rebuilder in your town, and tell him you want like a 120-130amp alternator built out of your stock one; or one that will have the same clock position, and mount identically.
if after the alt, your electronics don't "perk up" you are probably just looking at years of mileage catching up to them, and motors, antenna, and radio will have to be replaced.

then I would take care of your suspension, that way, all your body will be done for the engine/trans you want to modify and/or build.

as long as your not planning any neutral drops, the rear end should be ok, it is the driveshaft and trans that you should focus on.
as far as the engine; it depends on the investment:
Speed Costs, how Fast do you want to go?
either rebuild your original, or go with a crate motor, that is entirely up to you... but, anybody can have a carb. I would call around (isn't Arizona Speed Shop in Tuscon or Phoenix?) to some places and see, because if you are going to invest $2-3K on engine mods, that CFI can be honed out or replaced, polished, and heat coated to not only look great, but BREATHE great too.

as far as the emissions, does Arizona have collector's plates? are they twenty or twenty-five year old cars? either way, your almost there, and then; WHAT EMISSIONS?!
until then, bypass the smog pump belt: if it is a v-belt, take it off; if it's a serpentine, find the size that will skip that pulley altogether. that will not only free up like 10HP, get you better gas mileage, but it will leave every thing present when it comes time to either sell, or throw the belt on and drive to the smog station...

hope this helps, for starters.
ctesla
nrt racing

Yes, you're right, I believe I have the 108 amp alternator. Im gonna replace it. Everytime I either roll the windows up or down, the lights and the dash dims, so, I hope that replacing it with a 120-130 amps alt. fixes that problem. Going back to the performance, what do u think about this, I have seen a few used complete LT1 engines on ebay, they are running around $2K, so would it be better to swap my L83 with an Lt1? And then, If I get it cheap, I could still rebuilt it and have the stroker kit installed on the LT1 instead of the L83. I think that would be more reliable, upgradeable (nitrous, supercharger) and would make more power, and still wount be as expensive as a new crate engine. But, would I be able to keep my TH700R4? Or am I gonna have to look for a, which I think its the 4L60E tranny? I have never done an engine swap so I dont know what is compatible and whats not. But for now, I will start with the alternator and the ministarter (mine is getting on my nerves, it doesnt work when it gets hot, I have to wait for it to cool down), and then the suspension, but I would like to know what would be the best shots, the best bang for the bucks so that I can have a happy X-mas day. Thank you very much again! :)